London

English post-punk legends Wire have announced new release details for forthcoming album of strays, 10:20. Originally scheduled for vinyl release on Record Store Day, the album will now receive a full general release on all formats on June 19 via the band’s own label, pinkflag.

Yesterday, the band have also shared the first-ever studio recording of “The Art of Persistence.”

Billy Idol performs at the Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort on March 13, 2020. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Billy Idol’s dad was a helluva salesman. He worked hard all of his life, and he never really seemed to have time for Billy’s music as his son shot up the charts in the early ’80s.

In 2014, Billy was working on Kings & Queens of the Underground, his eighth studio album, and he took a mix over to his parents to get their feedback. To Billy’s delight, his dad was not only very interested in the album, but he liked the songs quite well.

Soon after, Billy’s dad passed away at the age of 90. In his bed at the time, he was listening to Billy’s “Ghosts in My Guitar,” a song that Billy performed with considerable emotion at the Pearl Theatre at Palms Resort Casino recently.

Colin Newman performs with Wire at Union Stage on March 9, 2020. (Photo by Paivi Salonen)

For over 40 years, Wire has been one of the most innovative bands to come out of the United Kingdom, if not the world. Since their 1977 debut, Pink Flag, they’ve shifted their musical style with almost every album. Beginning as a stripped-down, breakneck-paced punk affair, Wire has embraced new textures and sounds, including electronic music.

The band’s recent show at DC’s Union Stage began with a 45-minute DJ set of electronic music, with one notable composition that sounded like a fusion of Ennio Morricone and ambient electronics.

Bat for Lashes performs at Sixth & I on Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Nalinee Darmrong)

When Natasha Khan moved to Los Angeles not long ago, she quickly made arrangements to travel north to Santa Cruz to see The Trestle Bridge made famous by The Lost Boys movie, a favorite film. She then began reflecting on an artistic endeavor around a group of Lost Girls, and thus was born the concept for the latest album by Bat for Lashes.

Natasha reflected on the inspiration in concert at Sixth & I recently, where she presented half a dozen songs from the album along with several from her previous four records and covers of several artists who “made her the woman she is today.”